Promoted by the powerful and conservative elite of Mexico's "hacendados", with the support of the French, as well as from the Austrian and Belgian crowns, the intervention attempted to create a monarchical system in Mexico, as it had functioned during the 300 years of the viceroyalty of New Spain and for the short term of the imperial independent reign of Emperor Agustín I of Mexico. Support came mainly from conservative Catholics, who were at the time a majority within Mexico,[citation needed] and the main means came from the Mexican nobility, who aimed to promote stability. The Empire came to an end on June 19, 1867, with the execution of Emperor Maximilian I.

The United States government viewed Emperor Maximilian as a French puppet, and did not regard his reign as the will of most Mexicans or see him as the legitimate leader of Mexico. They demanded the withdrawal of French forces, and France acceded.[1] In 1867, the empire fell and Maximilian was executed at the orders of Benito Juárez, in the Cerro de las Campanas near Querétaro.

Napoleon III had more ambitious goals than the recovery of France's debts. Heavily influenced by his wife Empress Eugenie, he was intent on reviving the Mexican monarchy. Prior to 1861 any interference in the affairs of Mexico by European powers would have been viewed as a challenge to the U.S., and no one wanted to provoke a conflict with them. In 1861 the U.S. was embroiled in its own conflict, the American Civil War, which made the U.S. government in Washington, D.C., powerless to intervene. Encouraged by Empress Eugenie, who saw herself as the champion of the Catholic Church in Mexico, Napoleon III took advantage of the situation.

Napoleon III saw the opportunity to make France the great modernizing influence in the Western Hemisphere, as well as enabling the country to capture the South American markets. To give him further encouragement, there was his half brother, the duc de Morny, who was the largest holder of Mexican bonds.

Napoleon III orders the withdrawal of French troops from Mexico. The Emperor Maximilian refuses to desert his Mexican supporters. Charlotte sails to Europe to plead for help, growing persecution mania robs her of her senses. Republican troops on the advance in Mexico. France and Mexico sign a series of treaties that allow France to seize the receipts of Mexican customs to pay for the French intervention.

Maximilian and his Imperial troops are besieged in the city of Santiago de Querétaro. The city falls through betrayal after 72 days. On 19th of June, Emperor Maximilian and two loyalist generals are executed by a republican firing-squad on the Hill of the Bells.

On 18 January the body of Maximilian laid to rest among his ancestors in the Imperial Crypt of the Capuchin Church in Vienna.

One of the main challenges encountered by the Emperor was the lack of sufficient infrastructure to link the different parts of the realm. The main goal was connecting the port of Veracruz and the capital in Mexico City. In 1857, Don Antonio Escandón secured the right to build a line from the port of Veracruz to Mexico City and on to the Pacific Ocean. Revolution and political instability stifled progress on the financing or construction of the line until 1864, when, under the regime of Emperor Maximilian, the Imperial Mexican Railway Company began construction of the line. Political upheaval continued to stifle progress, and the initial segment from Veracruz to Mexico City was inaugurated nine years later on January 1, 1873 by President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada.

In 1857 the original proprietors of the government concession, the Masso Brothers, inaugurated on the 4th of July the train service from Tlatelolco, in México City, to the nearby town of Guadalupe Hidalgo.[6] Eventually they ran out of funds and decided to sell it to Manuel Escandón and Antonio Escandón.[7] The Escandón Brothers continued working and the project, and Antonio Escandón visited the United States and England in the last months of the year. In the first country, he hired Andrew Talcott, and in the latter, he sold company stock. Exploration of a route from Orizaba to Maltrata was performed by engineers Andrew H. Talcott and Pascual Almazán.

During the French intervention, part of the railways were destroyed. The only option available was the establishment of a pact between the French Army, and the two companies of the Escandón Brothers. The French Army was to provide a subsidy to the companies of 120 000 francs a month for the works, and the companies were to establish service from Veracruz to Soledad para by May, actually concluding on August 15, 1862, concluding 41 kilometres of tracks. Next they reached the Camarón station, with a length of 62 kilometres. By October 16, 1864 they reached Paso del Macho with a length of 76 kilometres.[8]

On September 19, 1864, the Imperial Mexican Railway Company (Compañía Limitada del Ferrocarril Imperial Mexicano) was Incorporated in London to complete the earlier projects and continued construction on this line. Escandón ceded his privileges to the new company. Smith, Knight and Co. was later contracted in 1864 by the Imperial Mexican Railway to continue work on the line from Mexico City to Veracruz.[9] William Elliot was employed as Chief Assistant for three years on the construction of about 70 miles of the heaviest portion of the Mexican Railway, after which he returned to England. He had several years of experience building railways in England, India, and Brazil. In this last country, he held the position of Engineer-in-Chief of the Province of São Paulo.[10]

Maximiliano I hired engineer M Lyons for the construction of the line from La Soledad to Monte del Chiquihuite, later on joining the line from Veracruz to Paso del Macho.[11] Works were begun in Maltrata, at the same time that the works from Veracruz and Mexico City kept moving forward. By the end of the Empire in June 1867, 76 kilometers from Veracruz to Paso del Macho were functional (part of the concession to Lyons) and the line from Mexico City reached Apizaco with 139 km.[12][better source needed]

Before 1864, there was no banking in Mexico. Credits were obtained from religious orders and merchant guilds. During the French Intervention, the branch of a British bank was opened. The London Bank of Mexico and South America Ltd began operations with a capital of two and a half million pesos. It belonged to the Baring Brothers Group, and had its head office in the corner of the Capuchinas and Lerdo Streets in Downtown Mexico City.[13]

At the beginning of the American Civil War, the city of Matamoros was simply a sleepy little border town across the Rio Grande from Brownsville.[14] It had, for several years, been considered a port, but it had relatively few ships arriving. Previous to the war, accounts mention that not over six ships entered the port each year.[15] Nevertheless, in about four years, Matamoros, due to its proximity to Texas, was to assume state as a port, and multiply its inhabitants in number. Following is a quote from a Union General in 1885 describing the importance of the port in Matamoros:

Matamoros is to the rebellion west of the Mississippi what New York is to the United States—its great commercial and financial center, feeding and clothing the rebellion, arming and equipping, furnishing it materials of war and a specie basis of circulation that has almost displaced Confederate paper...The entire Confederate Government is greatly sustained by resources from this port.[16]

The cotton trade brought together in Bagdad, Tamaulipas and Matamoros over 20,000 speculators from the Union and the Confederacy, England, France, and Germany.[17] Bagdad had grown from a small, seashore town to a "full-pledge town."[18] The English-speaking population in the area by 1864 was so great that Matamoros even had a newspaper printed in English—it was called the Matamoros Morning Call.[19] In addition, the port exported cotton to England and France, where millions of people needed it for their daily livelihood,[20] and it was possible to receive fifty cents per pound in gold for cotton, when it cost about three cents in the Confederacy, "and much more money was received for it laid down in New York and European ports."[21] Other sources mention that the port of Matamoros traded with London, Havana, Belize, and New Orleans.[22][23] The Matamoros and New York City trade agreement, however, continued throughout the war and until 1864, and it was considered "heavy and profitable."[24]

By 1865, Matamoros was described as a prosperous town of 30,000 people,[25] and Lew Wallace informed General Ulysses S. Grant that neither Baltimore or New Orleans could compare itself to the growing commercial activity of Matamoros.[15] Nevertheless, after the collapse of the Confederacy, "gloom, despondency, and despair" became evident in Matamoros—markets shut down, business almost ceased to exist, and ships were rarely seen.[26] "For Sale" signs began to sprout up everywhere, and Matamoros returned to its role of a sleepy little border town across the Rio Grande.[27]

The conclusion of the American Civil War brought a severe crisis to the now abandoned Port of Bagdad, a crisis that until this day the port has never recovered from.[28] In addition, a tremendous hurricane in 1889 destroyed the desolated port. This same hurricane was one of the many hurricanes during the period of devastating hurricanes of 1870 to 1889, which reduced the population of Matamoros to nearly half its size, mounting with it another upsetting economic downturn.[29][30]

Maximilian I wanted to reorganize the territory following scientific criteria, instead of following historical ties, traditional allegiances and the interests of local groups. The task of designing this new division was given to Manuel Orozco y Berra (1816-1881).

This task was realized according to the following criteria:

The territory should be divided in at least fifty departments,

Whenever possible, natural boundaries shall be preferred,

For the territorial extension of each department, the configuration of the terrain, climate and elements of production were taken into consideration so that in due time, they could have a roughly equal number of inhabitants.[31]

On March 13, 1865, the new Law on the territorial division of the Mexican Empire was published.[32] The Empire was divided into 50 departments (departamentos):

Today, the Second Mexican Empire is advocated by small far-right groups like the Nationalist Front of Mexico, whose followers believe the Empire to have been a legitimate attempt to deliver Mexico from the hegemony of the United States. They are reported to gather every year at Querétaro, the place where Maximilian and his generals were executed.[34]

The 1939 film Juarez featured Paul Muni as Benito Juárez, Bette Davis as Empress Carlota, and Brian Aherne as Emperor Maximilian. It was based, in part, on Bertita Harding's novel The Phantom Crown (1937).

In the Southern Victory Series by Harry Turtledove, Maximilian's Empire survives the turmoil of the 1860s into the 20th century due to the Confederate States emerging victorious in its battle against the United States of America in the "War of Secession"; thus, the United States becomes too weak and unwilling to pressure Maximilian's puppet state to capitulate to rebels and dissolve. It fights alongside the Confederate States against the United States in 1881-1882, 1914-1917 and 1941-1944 and experiences a civil war during the interwar years between republicans and Habsburg royalists. In 1881, it sold its northern provinces of Sonora and Chihuahua to the Confederacy and in 1944, it lost its extraterritorial province of Baja California to the United States after the Second Great War.

In Mexican popular culture, there have been soap operas like "El Carruaje" (1967), plays, films, and historical novels such as Fernando del Paso's Noticias del Imperio (1987). Biographies, memoirs, and novels have been published since the 1860s, and among the most recent have been Prince Michael of Greece's The Empress of Farewells, available in various languages.

1.
First Mexican Empire
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The Mexican Empire was a short-lived monarchy and the first independent post-colonial state in Mexico. It was the former colony of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence and for a short time, together with the Empire of Brazil. The First Mexican Empire was short-lived, lasting less than two years, the first and only monarch of the state was Agustín de Iturbide, reigning as Agustín I of Mexico, for less than eight months. The empire was briefly reestablished by the French in 1864, under the 24 February 1821 Plan of Iguala, to which most of the provinces subscribed, the Mexican Congress established a regency council which was headed by Iturbide. If the king refused the position, the law provided for another member of the House of Bourbon to accede to the Mexican throne, however, the goal was merely a political tactic to appease the last royalists, and a full independence was expected. King Ferdinand, however, refused to recognize Mexicos independence and said that Spain would not allow any other European prince to take the throne of Mexico, on 19 May 1822, Mexican Congress named Iturbide as a constitutional emperor. On 21 May it issued a decree confirming this appointment, which was officially a temporary measure until a European monarch could be found to rule Mexico, iturbides official title was, By Divine Providence and the National Congress, First Constitutional Emperor of Mexico. His coronation took place on 21 July 1822 in Mexico City, in August 1822 a plot to overthrow the monarchy was discovered and on August 25, plotters, including 16 members of Congress, were arrested. As factions in the Congress began to sharply criticise Iturbide and his policies, santa Anna and his troops revolted against Iturbide, calling for the restoration of the Congress on 1 December 1822. Santa Anna had secretly persuaded General Echávarri, the commander of the Imperial forces, to switch sides and support the revolution when it was ready to be proclaimed throughout Mexico. The independence heroes Vicente Guerrero, Nicolás Bravo and Guadalupe Victoria soon joined, signing the Plan of Casa Mata on February 1,1823, the insurrectionists sent their proposal to the provincial governments and requested their adherence to the plan. In the course of just six weeks, the Plan of Casa Mata traveled to remote places as Texas. Each provincial government that accepted the plan thereby withdrew its allegiance from the Imperial government and this left Emperor Agustín I isolated with little support outside of Mexico City and a few factions of the Imperial Army. Consequently, he reinstalled the Congress, which he had abolished, abdicated the throne. Santa Anna and the proponents of the Plan of Casa Mata went on to oversee the drafting of a new constitution. The territory of the Mexican Empire corresponded to the borders of Viceroyalty of New Spain, excluding the Captaincies General of Cuba, Santo Domingo, subsequent territorial evolution of Mexico over the next several decades would eventually reduce Mexico to less than half its maximum extent. The first Mexican empire was divided into the following intendances, History of Mexico Second Mexican Empire Federal Republic of Central America Imperial House of Mexico Mexican Empire

2.
Spanish language
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Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania

3.
Second French Empire
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The Second French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France. The structure of the French government during the Second Empire was little changed from the First, but Emperor Napoleon III stressed his own imperial role as the foundation of the government. He had so often, while in prison or in exile and his answer was to organize a system of government based on the principles of the Napoleonic Idea. This meant that the emperor, the elect of the people as the representative of the democracy, ruled supreme. He himself drew power and legitimacy from his role as representative of the great Napoleon I of France, the anti-parliamentary French Constitution of 1852 instituted by Napoleon III on 14 January 1852, was largely a repetition of that of 1848. All executive power was entrusted to the emperor, who, as head of state, was responsible to the people. The people of the Empire, lacking democratic rights, were to rely on the benevolence of the rather than on the benevolence of politicians. He was to nominate the members of the council of state, whose duty it was to prepare the laws, and of the senate, a body permanently established as a constituent part of the empire. One innovation was made, namely, that the Legislative Body was elected by universal suffrage and this new political change was rapidly followed by the same consequence as had attended that of Brumaire. The press was subjected to a system of cautionnements and avertissements, in order to counteract the opposition of individuals, a surveillance of suspects was instituted. In the same way public instruction was strictly supervised, the teaching of philosophy was suppressed in the lycées, for seven years France had no democratic life. The Empire governed by a series of plebiscites, up to 1857 the Opposition did not exist, from then till 1860 it was reduced to five members, Darimon, Émile Ollivier, Hénon, Jules Favre and Ernest Picard. On 2 December 1851 Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, who had been elected President of the Republic and he thus became sole ruler of France, and re-established universal suffrage, previously abolished by the Assembly. His decisions and the extension of his mandate for 10 years were popularly endorsed by a referendum later that month that attracted an implausible 92 percent support. A new constitution was enacted in January 1852 which made Louis-Napoléon president for 10 years, however, he was not content with merely being an authoritarian president. Almost as soon as he signed the new document into law, in response to officially-inspired requests for the return of the empire, the Senate scheduled a second referendum in November, which passed with 97 percent support. As with the December 1851 referendum, most of the yes votes were manufactured out of thin air, the empire was formally re-established on 2 December 1852, and the Prince-President became Napoléon III, Emperor of the French. The constitution concentrated so much power in his hands that the only changes were to replace the word president with the word emperor

4.
Flag of Mexico
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The flag of Mexico is a vertical tricolor of green, white, and red with the national coat of arms charged in the center of the white stripe. The form of the coat of arms was most recently revised in 1968, but the design has been used since 1821. Red, white, and green are the colors of the liberation army in Mexico. The central emblem is the Mexican coat of arms, based on the Aztec symbol for Tenochtitlan and it recalls the legend of an eagle sitting on a cactus that signaled to the Aztecs where to found their city, Tenochtitlan. A ribbon in the colors is at the bottom of the coat of arms. Throughout history, the flag has changed several times, as the design of the coat of arms and the length-width ratios of the flag have been modified. The coat of arms is derived from an Aztec legend that their gods told them to build a city where they spot an eagle on a nopal eating a serpent, which is now Mexico City. The current law of symbols, Law on the National Arms, Flag, and Anthem. The current national flag is used as the Mexican naval ensign by ships registered in Mexico. Before the adoption of the first national flag, various flags were used during the War of Independence from Spain, the Standard became the initial symbol of the rebel army during the Mexican War of Independence. Various other Standards were used during the war, josé María Morelos used a flag with an image of the Virgin to which was added a blue and white insignia with a crowned eagle on a cactus over a three-arched bridge and the letters V. V. M. The Revolutionary Army also used a flag featuring the white, blue. The first use of the modern colors—green, white and red—was in the flag of the unified Army of the Three Guarantees after independence from Spain was won. While similar to the flag that is used today, the eagle in these arms is not holding a serpent in his talons. Variants of this flag appeared in this period also included a naval flag that had the tricolor pattern. The military also used a square flag, but the eagle was larger than on the national flag. The national flag was officially decreed by Agustín de Iturbide in November 1821 and this flag was no longer used upon the abolishment of the empire. The first national flag was established in 1821, the first year of Mexican recognized sovereignty, the imperial government that was set up chose a tricolor flag of green, white and red and charged with the national coat of arms

5.
Himno Nacional Mexicano
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The Mexican National Anthem, also known as Mexicans, at the call of war, is the national anthem of the United Mexican States. The anthem first started being used in 1854, although it was not officially adopted de jure until 1943, later in 1854 he asked, Jaime Nunó to compose the music which now accompanies Gonzálezs poem. The anthem, consisting of ten stanzas and a chorus, effectively entered into use on September 16,1854, on November 12,1853, President Antonio López de Santa Anna announced a competition to write a national anthem for Mexico. The competition offered a prize for the best poetic composition representing patriotic ideals, Francisco González Bocanegra, a talented poet, was not interested in participating in the competition. He argued that writing love poems involved very different skills from the required to write a national anthem. Under false pretenses, she lured him to a bedroom in her parents house, locked him into the room. Inside the room in which he was temporarily imprisoned were pictures depicting various events in Mexican history which helped to inspire his work, after four hours of fluent inspiration, Francisco regained his freedom by slipping all ten verses of his creation under the door. After Francisco received approval from his fiancée and her father, he submitted the poem, González was announced the winner in the publication Official Journal of the Federation on February 3,1854. A musical composition was chosen at the time as the lyrics. The winner was Juan Bottesini, but his entry was disliked due to aesthetics and this rejection caused a second national contest to find music for the lyrics. At the end of the second contest, the music that was chosen for Gonzálezs lyrics was composed by Jaime Nunó, at the time of the second anthem competition, Nunó was the leader of several Mexican military bands. He had been invited to direct these bands by President Santa Anna, about the time that Nunó first came to Mexico to start performing with the bands, Santa Anna was making his announcement about creating a national anthem for Mexico. Nunós anthem music composition was made like masterpieces of music, with a high quality in composition. Out of the few musical compositions submitted, Nunós music, titled God, the anthem was officially adopted on Independence Day, September 16 of that same year. The inaugural performance was directed by Juan Bottesini, sung by soprano Claudia Florenti, officially since 1943, the full national anthem consists of the chorus, 1st stanza, 5th stanza, 6th stanza and 10th stanza. The modification of the lyrics was ordered by President Manuel Ávila Camacho in a decree printed in the Diario Oficial de la Federación. When the anthem is played at sporting events, such as the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup, the parts of the anthem that are played are the chorus, 1st stanza. When opening and closing television and or radio programming, stations have played a modified national anthem consisting of the chorus, 1st stanza, chorus, 10th stanza

6.
Roman Catholicism
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The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church or the Universal Church, is the largest Christian church, with more than 1.28 billion members worldwide. As one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, it has played a prominent role in the history, headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, the churchs doctrines are summarised in the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed. Its central administration is located in Vatican City, enclaved within Rome, the Catholic Church is notable within Western Christianity for its sacred tradition and seven sacraments. It teaches that it is the one church founded by Jesus Christ, that its bishops are the successors of Christs apostles. The Catholic Church maintains that the doctrine on faith and morals that it declares as definitive is infallible. The Latin Church, the Eastern Catholic Churches, as well as such as mendicant orders and enclosed monastic orders. Among the sacraments, the one is the Eucharist, celebrated liturgically in the Mass. The church teaches that through consecration by a priest the sacrificial bread and wine become the body, the Catholic Church practises closed communion, with only baptised members in a state of grace ordinarily permitted to receive the Eucharist. The Virgin Mary is venerated in the Catholic Church as Queen of Heaven and is honoured in numerous Marian devotions. The Catholic Church has influenced Western philosophy, science, art and culture, Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of education and medical services in the world, from the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has been criticised for its doctrines on sexuality, its refusal to ordain women and its handling of sexual abuse cases. Catholic was first used to describe the church in the early 2nd century, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in the letter from Saint Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans, written about 110 AD. In the Catechetical Discourses of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, the name Catholic Church was used to distinguish it from other groups that call themselves the church. The use of the adjective Roman to describe the Church as governed especially by the Bishop of Rome became more widespread after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and into the Early Middle Ages. Catholic Church is the name used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church follows an episcopal polity, led by bishops who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders who are given formal jurisdictions of governance within the church. Ultimately leading the entire Catholic Church is the Bishop of Rome, commonly called the pope, in parallel to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutes that function autonomously, often subject only to the authority of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop. Most religious institutes only have male or female members but some have both, additionally, lay members aid many liturgical functions during worship services

7.
Politics of Mexico
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The constituent states of the federation must also have a republican form of government based on a congressional system as established by their respective constitutions. The executive power is exercised by the branch, which is headed by the President. Legislative power is vested upon the Congress of the Union, a two-chamber legislature comprising the Senate, judicial power is exercised by the judiciary, consisting of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, the Council of the Federal Judiciary and the collegiate, unitary and district tribunals. The politics of Mexico are dominated by three parties, National Action Party, the Party of the Democratic Revolution and Institutional Revolutionary Party. Registered political parties receive public funding for their operation and can obtain private funding within the limits prescribed by the law. The coalition must present itself with a name and logo. Proportional representation seats are assigned to the coalition based on the percentage of votes obtained in the elections, once each party in the coalition has been assigned plurinominal seats, they do not necessarily continue to work as a coalition in government. Throughout the 20th century, PRI had an almost hegemonic power at the state and federal level and it was in 1997, that PRI lost its absolute majority at the Congress of the Union, and in 2000 the first non-PRI president was elected since 1929. Suffrage is universal, free, secret and direct for all Mexican citizens 18 and older, the identity document in Mexico serves also as the voting card, so all citizens are automatically registered for all elections, that is, no pre-registration is necessary for every election. All elections are direct, that is, no electoral college is constituted for any of the elections at the federal, only when an incumbent president is absolutely absent, the Congress of the Union constitutes itself acts as an electoral college to elect an interim president by absolute majority. Presidential elections are scheduled every six years, except in the case of absolute absence of the president. Elections are usually held on the first Sunday of July, state governors are also elected every six years, whereas the legislatures are renewed every three years. State elections need not be concurrent with federal elections, elections within the Federal District are also organized by a local electoral institute. A strongly ingrained concept in Mexican political life is no reelection, the theory was implemented after Porfirio Díaz managed to monopolize the presidency for over 25 years. Presently, Mexican presidents are limited to a single six-year term, Deputies and senators are not allowed to immediately succeed themselves. The most recent federal elections were held on July 2,2006 concurrent with the full renovation of both chambers of the Congress of the Union. In these elections the Party of the Democratic Revolution, the Labour Party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party and the Ecologist Green Party formed a coalition called Alliance for Mexico. Felipe Calderón got the greatest number of votes according to the preliminary computation, the Federal Electoral Tribunal declared Felipe Calderón the winner of the elections on September 5, and president elect

8.
Constitutional monarchy
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A constitutional monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the sovereign exercises their authorities in accordance with a written or unwritten constitution. A constitutional monarchy may refer to a system in which the acts as a non-party political head of state under the constitution. Political scientist Vernon Bogdanor, paraphrasing Thomas Macaulay, has defined a constitutional monarch as a sovereign who reigns, in addition to acting as a visible symbol of national unity, a constitutional monarch may hold formal powers such as dissolving parliament or giving royal assent to legislation. Many constitutional monarchies still retain significant authorities or political influence however, such as through certain reserve powers, the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms are all constitutional monarchies in the Westminster tradition of constitutional governance. Three states – Malaysia, Cambodia and the Holy See – are elective monarchies, the oldest constitutional monarchy dating back to ancient times was that of the Hittites. These were scattered noble families that worked as representatives of their subjects in an adjutant or subaltern federal-type landscape, the most recent country to move from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy was Bhutan, between 2007 and 2008. At the same time, in Scotland the Convention of Estates enacted the Claim of Right Act 1689, although Queen Anne was the last monarch to veto an Act of Parliament when in 1707 she blocked the Scottish Militia Bill, Hanoverian monarchs continued to selectively dictate government policies. For instance George III constantly blocked Catholic Emancipation, eventually precipitating the resignation of William Pitt the Younger as Prime Minister in 1801, Queen Victoria was the last monarch to exercise real personal power but this diminished over the course of her reign. In 1839 she became the last sovereign to keep a Prime Minister in power against the will of Parliament when the Bedchamber crisis resulted in the retention of Lord Melbournes administration, today, the role of the British monarch is by convention effectively ceremonial. No person may accept significant public office without swearing an oath of allegiance to the Queen, with few exceptions, the monarch is bound by constitutional convention to act on the advice of the Government. Constitutional monarchy also occurred briefly in the years of the French Revolution. As originally conceived, a monarch was head of the executive branch and quite a powerful figure even though his or her power was limited by the constitution. In many cases the monarchs, while still at the top of the political and social hierarchy, were given the status of servants of the people to reflect the new. In the course of Frances July Monarchy, Louis-Philippe I was styled King of the French rather than King of France, following the Unification of Germany, Otto von Bismarck rejected the British model. However this model of constitutional monarchy was discredited and abolished following Germanys defeat in the First World War. Later, Fascist Italy could also be considered as a constitutional monarchy and this eventually discredited the Italian monarchy and led to its abolition in 1946. After the Second World War, surviving European monarchies almost invariably adopted some variant of the constitutional monarchy model originally developed in Britain, nowadays a parliamentary democracy that is a constitutional monarchy is considered to differ from one that is a republic only in detail rather than in substance. However, three important factors distinguish monarchies such as the United Kingdom from systems where greater power might otherwise rest with Parliament, other privileges may be nominal or ceremonial

9.
Emperor of Mexico
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The Emperor of Mexico was the head of state and ruler of Mexico on two non-consecutive occasions in the 19th century. With the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire from Spain in 1821, the monarchy was soon replaced by the First Republic of Mexico. Mexico briefly reverted into a monarchy in the 1860s, during the Second Mexican Empire, in both instances of Empire, the reigning Emperor was forcibly deposed and then executed. History of Mexico Empress of Mexico Imperial Crown of Mexico Mexican Imperial Orders List of heads of state of Mexico

10.
Maximilian I of Mexico
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Maximilian was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire. He was a brother of the Austrian emperor Francis Joseph I. After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he accepted an offer by Napoleon III of France to rule Mexico, France had invaded Mexico in the winter of 1861, as part of the War of the French Intervention. Seeking to legitimize French rule in the Americas, Napoleon III invited Maximilian to establish a new Mexican monarchy for him. With the support of the French army, and a group of conservative Mexican monarchists hostile to the administration of new Mexican President Benito Juárez. Once there, he declared himself Emperor of Mexico on 10 April 1864, the Empire managed to gain recognition by major European powers including Britain, Austria, and Prussia. The United States however, continued to recognize Juarez as the president of Mexico. Maximilian never completely defeated the Mexican Republic, Republican forces led by President Benito Juárez continued to be active during Maximilians rule, with the end of the American Civil War in 1865, the United States began more explicit aid of President Juárezs forces. Matters worsened for Maximilian after the French armies withdrew from Mexico in 1866 and his self-declared empire collapsed, and he was captured and executed by the Mexican government in 1867. His wife, Charlotte of Belgium, had left for Europe earlier to try to support for her husbands regime, after his execution, however. Maximilian was born on 6 July 1832 in the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna and he was baptized the following day as Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph. The first name honored his godfather and paternal uncle, The King of Hungary and his father was Archduke Franz Karl, the second surviving son of The Emperor of Austria, during whose reign he was born. Maximilian was thus a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg. His mother was Princess Sophie of Bavaria, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, despite their different personalities, the marriage was fruitful, and after four miscarriages, four sons—including Maximilian—would reach adulthood. The existence of an affair between Sophie and the Duke, and any possibility that Maximilian was conceived from such a union, are widely dismissed by historians. Adhering to traditions inherited from the Spanish court during Habsburg rule, afterwards, his education was entrusted to a tutor. Most of Maximilians day was spent in study, the thirty-two hours per week of classes at age 7 steadily grew until it reached fifty-five hours per week by the time he was 17. The disciplines were diverse, ranging from history, geography, law and technology, to languages, military studies, fencing, in addition to his native German, he eventually learned to speak Hungarian, Slovak, English, French, Italian and Spanish

11.
Regent
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A regent is a person appointed to administer a state because the monarch is a minor, is absent or is incapacitated. The rule of a regent or regents is called a regency, a regent or regency council may be formed ad hoc or in accordance with a constitutional rule. Regent is sometimes a formal title, if the formally appointed regent is unavailable or cannot serve on a temporary basis, a Regent ad interim may be appointed to fill the gap. In a monarchy, a regent usually governs due to one of these reasons and this was the case in the Kingdom of Finland and the Kingdom of Hungary, where the royal line was considered extinct in the aftermath of World War I. In Iceland, the regent represented the King of Denmark as sovereign of Iceland until the country became a republic in 1944, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, kings were elective, which often led to a fairly long interregnum. In the interim, it was the Roman Catholic Primate who served as the regent, in the small republic of San Marino, the two Captains Regent, or Capitani Reggenti, are elected semi-annually as joint heads of state and of government. Famous regency periods include that of the Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, giving rise to terms such as Regency era. Strictly this period lasted from 1811 to 1820, when his father George III was insane, as of 1 December 2016, Liechtenstein is the only country with an active regency. The term regent may refer to lower than the ruler of a country. The term may be used in the governance of organisations, typically as an equivalent of director, some university managers in North America are called regents and a management board for a college or university may be titled the Board of Regents. The term regent is used for members of governing bodies of institutions such as the national banks of France. This type of group portrait was popular in Dutch Golden Age painting during the 17th century, in the Dutch East Indies, a regent was a native prince allowed to rule de facto colonized state as a regentschap. Consequently, in the state of Indonesia, the term regent is used in English to mean a bupati. Again in Belgium and France, Regent is the title of a teacher in a lower secondary school. In the Philippines, specifically, the University of Santo Tomas, the Father Regent and they also form the Council of Regents that serves as the highest administrative council of the university. In the Society of Jesus, a regent is a training to be a Jesuit. A regent in the Jesuits is often assigned to teach in a school or some other academic institution as part of the formation toward final vows, list of regents Viceroy, an individual who, in a colony or province, exercised the power of a monarch on his behalf

12.
Juan Almonte
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Juan Nepomuceno Almonte was a 19th-century Mexican official, soldier and diplomat. He was a veteran of the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution, Almonte was also a leader of Mexicos Conservatives in the 1860s and served as regent after the Second Mexican Empire was established by Napoleon III of France. Almonte was born in Nocupétaro, Carácuaro district, in the state of Michoacán and he was the son of José María Morelos, a Roman Catholic priest who led the insurgents in the Mexican War of Independence from 1811 to 1815, and Brígida Almonte. His mother, Brígida Almonte, was said to be of pure Amerindian ancestry, in 1815 Morelos sent Almonte to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he was educated and learned fluent English. While in New Orleans, Almonte worked as a clerk for hardware merchant Puech & Bein and his time in the United States was cut short when his father was executed on December 22,1815 in the village of San Cristóbal Ecatepec. Between 1822 and 1824, Almonte was on the staff of insurgent rebel leader José Félix Trespalacios in Texas, Almonte assisted Ambassador José Mariano Michelena in negotiating a commercial and amity treaty with England. This was Mexicos first treaty as a new nation, in 1830, while serving in Mexican Congress, Almonte became an object of government attention as editor of El Atleta. He accused President Anastasio Bustamante of allowing foreign intervention in national affairs, because of his stance, Almontes arrest was ordered on April 16,1830. He was forced to seek refuge in New Orleans due to government pressure, later, Bustamante relented and appointed Almonte secretary of the Mexican Legation Extraordinary in 1831. His new job was to represent Mexico in the Republics of South America, Almonte married María Dolores Quesada on March 1,1840 in Mexico City and they had a daughter named María de Guadalupe Anastacia Aleja Brígida Saturnina. In 1834 Vice President Valentín Gómez Farías appointed Almonte and Col. José María Díaz Noriega to make a tour of Texas. In late January 1836 Almonte was appointed aide-de-camp to Antonio López de Santa Anna, Santa Anna led his army directly for San Antonio de Bexar, where a small group of Texians was garrisoned at the former Alamo Mission. As the Mexican army occupied the city, Texian co-commander James Bowie sent Green B. Jameson to speak with Santa Anna, according to Almonte, the Texians asked for an honorable surrender but were informed that any surrender must be unconditional. In his March 6 journal entry after the battle, Mexican Almonte listed the Texian casualty toll as 250, with the survivors being five women, one Mexican soldier and one slave. Almonte did not record the names of either the defenders or the survivors, Almonte is said to have had the role in saving Susannah Dickinson. According to some interviews she gave, a Mexican officer intervened to spare her and her daughters life and this officer was presumed to be either an English mercenary named Black, or Almonte. Then, she said she was taken before Santa Anna, who was talked out of imprisoning her by Almonte. On April 21,1836, Almonte, at the head of part of the Guerrero battalion, Almonte led the last organized resistance of the panicked army

13.
Congress of the Union
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The Congress of the Union is the legislative branch of the Mexican government. The Congress is an assembly, consisting of two chambers, the Chamber of Deputies, and the Senate of the Republic. Its structure and responsibilities are defined in the Third Title, Second Chapter, the upper chamber is the Senate, Cámara de Senadores or Senado. It comprises 128 seats,96 members are elected by popular vote for six-year terms. The lower house is the Chamber of Deputies, Cámara de Diputados and it has 500 seats,300 members are elected by popular vote to three-year terms, the other 200 seats are allocated according to proportional representation. The Congress of the Union has two chambers, the 200 PR-seats are distributed generally without taking account the 300 plurality-seats, but since 1996 a party cannot get more seats overall than 8% above its result for the PR-seats. There are two exceptions to that rule, a party can lose only PR-seats by that rule. Also, a party cannot get more than 300 seats overall, the Chamber of Senators has 128 members, elected for a six-year term,96 of them in three-seat constituencies and 32 by proportional representation on a nationwide basis. In the state constituencies, two seats are awarded to the plurality winner and one to the first runner-up and it is conventional to refer to each Legislature by the Roman numeral of its term. Thus, the current Congress is known as the LXIII Legislature, the previous Congress was the LXII Legislature, the I Legislature of Congress was the first Constitutional congress after the 1857 Constitution. Early in the 20th century, the revolutionary leader Francisco I, madero popularized the slogan, Sufragio Efectivo – no Reelección. In keeping with that long held principle, and until 2014, on February 10,2014, the Mexican Constitution was amended to allow reelection to the legislative bodies for the first time. Starting with the General Election of 2018, Deputies and Senators will be allowed to run for reelection, Chamber of Deputies Senate Politics of Mexico List of legislatures by country Chamber of Deputies Senate

14.
Upper house
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An upper house, sometimes called a Senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the house is usually smaller. Examples of upper houses in countries include the UKs House of Lords, Canadas Senate, Indias Rajya Sabha, Russias Federation Council, Irelands Seanad, Germanys Bundesrat, a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral. An upper house is different from the lower house in at least one of the following respects, Powers, In a parliamentary system. Therefore, in countries the Upper House votes on only limited legislative matters. Cannot vote a motion of no confidence against the government, while the house always can. In a presidential system, It may have equal or nearly equal power with the lower house and it may have specific powers not granted to the lower house. For example, It may give advice and consent to some executive decisions and it may have the sole power to try impeachments against officials of the executive, following enabling resolutions passed by the lower house. Status, In some countries, its members are not popularly elected, membership may be indirect and its members may be elected with a different voting system than that used to elect the lower house. Less populated states, provinces, or administrative divisions may be represented in the upper house than in the lower house. Members terms may be longer than in the house. Members may be elected in portions, for staggered terms, rather than all at one time, in some countries, the upper house cannot be dissolved at all, or can be dissolved only in more limited circumstances than the lower house. It typically has fewer members or seats than the lower house and it has usually a higher age of candidacy than the lower house. In parliamentary systems the upper house is seen as an advisory or revising chamber. Some or all of the restrictions are often placed on upper houses. No absolute veto of proposed legislation, though suspensive vetoes are permitted in some states, in countries where it can veto legislation, it may not be able to amend the proposals. A reduced or even absent role in initiating legislation, additionally, a Government must have the consent of both to remain in office, a position which is known as perfect bicameralism or equal bicameralism. An example is the British House of Lords, bills can only be delayed for up to one year before the Commons can use the Parliament Act, although economic bills can only be delayed for one month

15.
Senate of the Republic (Mexico)
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The Senate of the Republic, constitutionally Chamber of Senators of the Honorable Congress of the Union, is the upper house of Mexicos bicameral Congress. In a senatorial race, each party nominates two candidates who run and are elected together by direct vote, Senators serve six-year terms, running concurrently with the President of Mexico. Special elections are rare, as substitutes are chosen at every election, the Senate is completely renewed every six years, since senators are barred from immediate reelection. This will change at the 2018 election, in Spanish, it is conventional to refer to each Legislature of the Senate by the Roman numeral of its term. The current session is known as the LXII Legislatura, Senators are elected to serve during two legislatures of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies. Thus, current Senators will serve during the 62nd and 63rd Legislatures of the Chamber of Deputies, according to the Constitution, senators are the representatives of the nation. To be a senator, for any of the two principles of choice, you must meet the requirements, Being a Mexican citizen by birth. Not being active duty in the military or have control of police or rural gendarmerie at least ninety days before the election, not to be secretary or undersecretary of state unless it is definitively separated from office at least ninety days before the election. Not be Minister of the Supreme Court unless definitively separated from office three years before the election, no minister of some religious cult. Senators are elected for a period of six years, corresponding to two legislatures and can not be reelected for the period, although alternately. They are elected by popular suffrage and secret ballot in every state of the republic. They are also 32 senators elected by proportional representation, the integration of the governing bodies in the LXII Legislature has been as follows, For the office of legislative affairs Senators integrate in Commissions that are dedicated to a particular issue. The most important committees are those of, Interior, Constitutional Issues, Defense, Finance, Justice, each Senator belongs to at least three different commissions, and each committee shall elect a Chairman and two Secretaries 5 to coordinate their work. A senator holds office for a period of six years for which he was elected, divided into two legislatures of three years each, from 1 September 2015 is installed LXIII Legislature, which will end his term on 31 August 2018. The time between the regular sessions known as Recesses, there are two recesses that run from December 16 to January 31 and May 1 to August 31. The sessions of the Standing Committee are held in the Senate during the first recess and the House of Representatives in the second recess

16.
Lower house
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A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position below the house, in many legislatures worldwide. A legislature composed of one house is described as unicameral. In comparison with the house, lower houses frequently display certain characteristics, Powers In a parliamentary system, Much more power. Able to override the upper house in some ways, can vote a motion of no confidence against the government. In a presidential system, Somewhat less power, as the house alone gives advice. Given the sole power to impeach the executive Status Always elected directly, while the house may be elected directly, indirectly. Its members may be elected with a different voting system to the upper house, most populated administrative divisions are better represented than in the upper house, representation is usually proportional to population. Elected all at once, not by staggered terms, in a parliamentary system, can be dissolved by the executive. Has total or original control over budget and monetary laws, lower age of candidacy than the upper house. Many lower houses are named in the manner, House/Chamber of Representatives/the People/Commons/Deputies

17.
Chamber of Deputies (Mexico)
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The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Congress of the Union, the bicameral legislature of Mexico. The structure and responsibilities of both chambers of Congress are defined in Articles 50 to 70 of the current constitution, the Chamber of Deputies is composed of one federal representative for every 200,000 citizens. Of these,300 majority deputies are elected by plurality from single-member districts. The remaining 200 party deputies are assigned through rules of proportional representation and these seats are not tied to districts, rather, they are allocated to parties based on each partys share of the national vote. The 200 party deputies are intended to counterbalance the sectional interests of the district-based representatives, substitutes are elected at the same time as each deputy, so special elections are rare. From 1917 to 2015, deputies were barred from serving consecutive terms in accordance with the Constitutions ban on immediate reelection to the legislature, thus, the Chamber of Deputies was one of the few legislative bodies in the world that was completely renewed at an election. However, this change at the 2018 elections, deputies are now permitted to run for reelection. Congressional elections held halfway into the six year mandate are known as mid-term elections. President of the Chamber of Deputies Directive Board Congress of Mexico Senate of Mexico Politics of Mexico Official website

18.
Second French intervention in Mexico
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It followed President Benito Juárezs suspension of interest payments to foreign countries on 17 July 1861, which angered these three major creditors of Mexico. Emperor Napoleon III of France was the instigator, justifying military intervention by claiming a broad foreign policy of commitment to free trade, for him, a friendly government in Mexico would ensure European access to Latin American markets. Napoleon also wanted the silver that could be mined in Mexico to finance his empire, Napoleon built a coalition with Spain and Britain while the U. S. was deeply engaged in its civil war. The three European powers signed the Treaty of London on 31 October 1861, to unite their efforts to receive payments from Mexico, on 8 December the Spanish fleet and troops arrived at Mexicos main port, Veracruz. When the British and Spanish discovered that France planned to all of Mexico. The subsequent French invasion resulted in the Second Mexican Empire, after heavy guerrilla resistance led by Juárez, which continued even after the capital had fallen in 1863, the French eventually withdrew from Mexico and Maximilian I was executed in 1867. The British, Spanish and French fleets arrived at Veracruz, between 8 and 17 December 1861 intending to pressure the Mexicans into settling their debts, the Spanish fleet seized San Juan de Ulúa and subsequently the capital Veracruz on 17 December. The European forces advanced to Orizaba, Cordoba and Tehuacán, as they had agreed in the Convention of Soledad, the city of Campeche surrendered to the French fleet on 27 February 1862, and a French army, commanded by General Lorencez, arrived on 5 March. When the Spanish and British realised the French ambition was to conquer Mexico, they withdrew their forces on 9 April, in May, the French man-of-war Bayonnaise blockaded Mazatlán for a few days. Mexican forces commanded by General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the French army in the Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862, the pursuing Mexican army was contained by the French at Orizaba, Veracruz, on 14 June. More French troops arrived on 21 September, and General Bazaine arrived with French reinforcements on 16 October, the French occupied the port of Tampico on 23 October, and unopposed by Mexican forces took control of Xalapa, Veracruz on 12 December. The French bombarded Veracruz on 15 January 1863, two months later, on 16 March, General Forey and the French Army began the siege of Puebla. They were forced to make a defence in a nearby hacienda, danjou was mortally wounded at the hacienda, and his men mounted an almost suicidal bayonet attack, fighting to nearly the last man, only three French Legionnaires survived. To this day, the anniversary of 30 April remains the most important day of celebration for Legionnaires. The French army of General François Achille Bazaine defeated the Mexican army led by General Comonfort in its campaign to relieve the siege of Puebla, at San Lorenzo, Puebla surrendered to the French shortly afterward, on 17 May. On 31 May, President Juárez fled the city with his cabinet, retreating northward to Paso del Norte, having taken the treasure of the state with them, the government-in-exile remained in Chihuahua until 1867. French troops under Bazaine entered Mexico City on 7 June 1863, the main army entered the city three days later led by General Forey. General Almonte was appointed the provisional President of Mexico on 16 June, the Superior Junta with its 35 members met on 21 June, and proclaimed a Catholic Empire on 10 July

19.
Geography of Mexico
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The geography of Mexico describes the geographic features of Mexico, a country in the Americas. Mexico is located at about 23° N and 102° W in the portion of North America. From its farthest land points, Mexico is a little over 3,200 km in length. Mexico is bounded to the north by the United States, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, to the east by the Gulf of Mexico, and to the southeast by Belize, Guatemala, and the Caribbean Sea. The northernmost constituent of Latin America, it is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world, Mexico is three times the size of Texas. Almost all of Mexico is on the North American Plate, with parts of the Baja California Peninsula in the northwest on the Pacific. Some geographers include the portion east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec including the Yucatán Peninsula within North America and this portion includes Campeche, Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán, representing 12.1 percent of the countrys total area. Alternatively, the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt may be said to delimit the region physiographically on the north, geopolitically, Mexico is generally not considered part of Central America. Politically, Mexico is divided into states and a federal district. As well as numerous neighbouring islands, Mexican territory includes the more remote Isla Guadalupe, the meandering Río Bravo del Norte defines the border from Ciudad Juárez east to the Gulf of Mexico. A series of natural and artificial markers delineate the United States-Mexican border west from Ciudad Juárez to the Pacific Ocean, Boundary is jointly administered by the International Boundary and Water Commission. On its south, Mexico shares an 871 kilometer border with Guatemala and a 251-kilometer border with Belize. Mexico has a 9,330 kilometer coastline, of which 7,338 kilometers face the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California, and the remaining 2,805 kilometers front the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Mexicos exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles off each coast, indeed, the state capital of Yucatán, Mérida, is farther north than Mexico City or Guadalajara. The northwest coastal plain is the given the lowland area between the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre Occidental averages 2,250 metres in elevation, the northeast coastal plain extends from the eastern slope of the Sierra Madre Oriental to the Gulf of Mexico. The median elevation of the Sierra Madre Oriental is 2,200 metres, the Mexican Altiplano, stretching from the United States border to the Cordillera Neovolcánica, occupies the vast expanse of land between the eastern and western sierra madres. A low east-west range divides the altiplano into northern and southern sections and these two sections, previously called the Mesa del Norte and Mesa Central, are now regarded by geographers as sections of one altiplano

20.
Demographics of Mexico
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Throughout most of the twentieth century Mexicos population was characterized by rapid growth. The most populous city in the country is the capital, Mexico City, with a population of 8.8 million, approximately 50% of the population lives in one of the 55 large metropolitan areas in the country. In total, about 78. 84% of the population of the lives in urban areas. The Census Inegi in Mexico is the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, the National Population Council, is an institution under the Secretary of the Interior in charge of the analysis and research of population dynamics. The National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples, also undertakes research, in 1900, the Mexican population was 13.6 million. These measures jointly led to an intense demographic increase between 1930 and 1980, the populations annual growth rate has been reduced from a 3. 5% peak, in 1965 to 0. 99% in 2005. While Mexico is now transitioning to the phase of demographic transition. Fertility rates have decreased from 5.7 children per woman in 1976 to 2.2 in 2006. However, as of recent years in the 2010s, the net migration rate reached 0, given the economy of Mexico. However, Mexico itself constitutes the second country of total number of immigrants to the United States from 1830 to 2000, the Mexican government projects that the Mexican population will grow to about 123 million by 2042 and then start declining slowly. Assumptions include fertility stabilizing at 1.85 children per woman, the states and the Federal District that conform the Mexican federation are collectively called federal entities. The five most populous federal entities in 2005 were the State of Mexico and this has also led to decentralization and growth of other metropolitan areas that conform regional centers of economic growth, like Monterrey, Guadalajara, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, León and Torreón. According to the 2012 revision of the World Population Prospects the total population was 117,886,000 in 2010, compared to only 28,296,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 30%, structure of the population, Source, Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía Note, registered births include births from non-resident mothers. Therefore, the rates are overestimated in the past two decades. The following estimates were prepared by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, aside from the original Spanish colonists, many Europeans immigrated to Mexico in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Non-Spanish immigrant groups included British, Irish, Italian, German, large numbers of Middle Eastern immigrants arrived in Mexico during the same period, mostly from Syria and Lebanon. Asian immigrants, mostly Chinese, some via the United States, settled in northern Mexico, during the 1970s and 1980s Mexico opened its doors to immigrants from Latin America, mainly political refugees from Chile, Cuba, Peru, Colombia and Central America

21.
Mexican peso
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The Mexican peso is the currency of Mexico. Modern peso and dollar currencies have a origin in the 15th–19th century Spanish dollar, most continuing to use its sign. The Mexican peso is the 8th most traded currency in the world, the third most traded currency originating from the Americas, the current ISO4217 code for the peso is MXN, prior to the 1993 revaluation, the code MXP was used. The peso is subdivided into 100 centavos, represented by ¢, as of March 31,2017, the pesos exchange rate was $19.94 per Euro and $18.71 per U. S. dollar. The name was used in reference to pesos oro or pesos plata. The Spanish word peso means weight, the peso was originally the name of the eight-real coins issued in Mexico by Spain. These were the so-called Spanish dollars or pieces of eight in wide circulation in the Americas, in 1863, the first issue was made of coins denominated in centavos, worth one hundredth of the peso. This was followed in 1866 by coins denominated one peso, coins denominated in reales continued to be issued until 1897. In 1905, the content of the peso was reduced by 49. 3%. However, from 1918 onward, the weight and fineness of all the coins declined, until 1977. On January 1,1993 the Bank of Mexico introduced a new currency, one new peso, or N$1.00, was equal to 1000 of the obsolete MXP pesos. The ISO4217 code, however, remained unchanged as MXN, thanks to the stability of the Mexican economy and the growth in foreign investment, the Mexican peso is now among the 15 most traded currency units in recent years. The first coins of the currency were 1 centavo pieces minted in 1863. Emperor Maximilian, ruler of the Second Mexican Empire from 1864–1867 and his portrait was on the obverse, with the legend Maximiliano Emperador, the reverse shows the imperial arms and the legends Imperio Mexicano and 1 Peso and the date. They were struck from 1866 to 1867, the New Mexican republic continued to strike the 8 reales piece, but also began minting coins denominated in centavos and pesos. In addition to copper 1 centavo coins, silver coins of 5,10,25 and 50 centavos and 1 peso were introduced between 1867 and 1869, gold 1, 2½,5,10 and 20-peso coins were introduced in 1870. The obverses featured the Mexican eagle and the legend Republica Mexicana, the reverses of the larger coins showed a pair of scales, those of the smaller coins, the denomination. One-peso coins were made from 1865 to 1873, when 8 reales coins resumed production, in 1882, cupro-nickel 1,2 and 5 centavos coins were issued but they were only minted for two years

22.
Second Federal Republic of Mexico
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For the current entity named United Mexican States, see Mexico. The Second Federal Republic of Mexico is the given to the second attempt to achieve a federalist government in Mexico. Officially called the United Mexican States, a republic was implemented again on August 22,1846 when interim president José Mariano Salas issued a decree restoring the 1824 constitution. Other events during this period were the dictatorship of Santa Anna, the sale of the Mesilla Valley, during this period, there were two international conflicts, the conclusion of the war between Mexico and the United States and the war with France. The Federal Republic lasted almost 17 years and was ruled by 14 presidents, the Republic was dissolved on July 10,1863 with the decree of a change of government to a model of hereditary monarchy, this began the Second Mexican Empire, ruled by Maximilian I. In the midst of war with the United States, Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga staged a coup against the government of interim President José Joaquín de Herrera, shortly afterwards, the Congress appointed him as interim president, the vice presidency went to Nicolás Bravo. On July 28,1846 Mariano Paredes left the presidency to command the army in battle against the Americans, on August 4 the federalists led an uprising, causing the resignation of President Bravo. Mariano Salas took office as president on August 6, on August 22, he reestablished the 1824 Constitution. With the constitution again in force, centralism ended and the system was restored. The war between Mexico and the United States officially began on May 13,1846, but there had already been battles before that date, Mexico, in turn, declared war on the United States on May 23. The main US force continued through to the Rio Grande and into Mexico, on December 24, the Congress declared Antonio López de Santa Anna acting president and Valentín Gómez Farías vice president. Gómez Farías assumed the presidency in place of Santa Anna, who was fighting the US, after the battles of Angostura, Padierna, Churubusco and Molino del Rey, the Castle of Chapultepec was defended by young cadets who became known as Niños Héroes. During the assault, the generals were taken prisoner. The fall of Chapultepec had two consequences, the US occupation of Mexico City and the resignation of Santa Anna from the presidency on September 16,1847. Following the resignation of Santa Anna, Manuel de la Peña y Peña assumed the office, on September 26 he established the seat of federal power in Toluca and in Querétaro, where Congress convened. On November 11, De la Peña left office to serve as chancellor and negotiate peace with the United States Congress, Anaya, refusing to satisfy the land claims of the United States, resigned on January 8,1848. Manuel de la Pena y Pena was again named provisional president, on February 2 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, in which Mexico ceded 2,400,000 square kilometres of territory. De la Peña was able to save for Mexico the Baja Peninsula and its union by land with Sonora, Manuel de la Pena y Pena called for elections, Congress chose José Joaquin de Herrera, who took over as president June 3,1848

23.
Mexico
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Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a federal republic in the southern half of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States, to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean, to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea, and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometers, Mexico is the sixth largest country in the Americas by total area, Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and a federal district that is also its capital and most populous city. Other metropolises include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana, pre-Columbian Mexico was home to many advanced Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya and Aztec before first contact with Europeans. In 1521, the Spanish Empire conquered and colonized the territory from its base in Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Three centuries later, this territory became Mexico following recognition in 1821 after the colonys Mexican War of Independence. The tumultuous post-independence period was characterized by instability and many political changes. The Mexican–American War led to the cession of the extensive northern borderlands, one-third of its territory. The Pastry War, the Franco-Mexican War, a civil war, the dictatorship was overthrown in the Mexican Revolution of 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the countrys current political system. Mexico has the fifteenth largest nominal GDP and the eleventh largest by purchasing power parity, the Mexican economy is strongly linked to those of its North American Free Trade Agreement partners, especially the United States. Mexico was the first Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and it is classified as an upper-middle income country by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country by several analysts. By 2050, Mexico could become the fifth or seventh largest economy. The country is considered both a power and middle power, and is often identified as an emerging global power. Due to its culture and history, Mexico ranks first in the Americas. Mexico is a country, ranking fourth in the world by biodiversity. In 2015 it was the 9th most visited country in the world, Mexico is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G8+5, the G20, the Uniting for Consensus and the Pacific Alliance. Mēxihco is the Nahuatl term for the heartland of the Aztec Empire, namely, the Valley of Mexico, and its people, the Mexica and this became the future State of Mexico as a division of New Spain prior to independence. It is generally considered to be a toponym for the valley became the primary ethnonym for the Aztec Triple Alliance as a result. After New Spain won independence from Spain, representatives decided to name the new country after its capital and this was founded in 1524 on top of the ancient Mexica capital of Mexico-Tenochtitlan

24.
Napoleon III
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Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the only President of the French Second Republic and, as Napoleon III, the Emperor of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I and he was the first President of France to be elected by a direct popular vote. He remains the longest-serving French head of state since the French Revolution, during the first years of the Empire, Napoleons government imposed censorship and harsh repressive measures against his opponents. Some six thousand were imprisoned or sent to penal colonies until 1859, thousands more went into voluntary exile abroad, including Victor Hugo. From 1862 onwards, he relaxed government censorship, and his came to be known as the Liberal Empire. Many of his opponents returned to France and became members of the National Assembly, Napoleon III is best known today for his grand reconstruction of Paris, carried out by his prefect of the Seine, Baron Haussmann. He launched similar public works projects in Marseille, Lyon, Napoleon III modernized the French banking system, greatly expanded and consolidated the French railway system, and made the French merchant marine the second largest in the world. He promoted the building of the Suez Canal and established modern agriculture, Napoleon III negotiated the 1860 Cobden–Chevalier free trade agreement with Britain and similar agreements with Frances other European trading partners. Social reforms included giving French workers the right to strike and the right to organize, womens education greatly expanded, as did the list of required subjects in public schools. In foreign policy, Napoleon III aimed to reassert French influence in Europe and he was a supporter of popular sovereignty and of nationalism. In Europe, he allied with Britain and defeated Russia in the Crimean War and his regime assisted Italian unification and, in doing so, annexed Savoy and the County of Nice to France, at the same time, his forces defended the Papal States against annexation by Italy. Napoleon doubled the area of the French overseas empire in Asia, the Pacific, on the other hand, his armys intervention in Mexico which aimed to create a Second Mexican Empire under French protection ended in failure. Beginning in 1866, Napoleon had to face the power of Prussia. In July 1870, Napoleon entered the Franco-Prussian War without allies, the French army was rapidly defeated and Napoleon III was captured at the Battle of Sedan. The French Third Republic was proclaimed in Paris, and Napoleon went into exile in England, charles-Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, later known as Louis Napoleon and then Napoleon III, was born in Paris on the night of 20–21 April 1808. His presumed father was Louis Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. His mother was Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter by the first marriage of Napoleons wife Joséphine de Beauharnais, as empress, Joséphine proposed the marriage as a way to produce an heir for the Emperor, who agreed, as Joséphine was by then infertile. Louis married Hortense when he was twenty-four and she was nineteen and they had a difficult relationship, and only lived together for brief periods

25.
Mexican emperor referendum, 1863
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A referendum on Maximilian becoming Emperor was held in Mexico on 4 December 1863. The proposal was approved by 100% of voters, with not a single vote cast against. Maximilian subsequently took the throne on 11 April 1864, starting the era of the Second Mexican Empire, in 1867 Maximilian was dethroned and executed. In 1861 Mexican president Benito Juárez declared a moratorium on the debt as it was effectively bankrupt. The countrys creditors, led by Napoleon III decided to take military action, on 10 June 1863 French troops captured Mexico City. A Council of Regency and Assembly of Notables were summoned, the official figures are not deemed credible. The invading French army only conducted the referendum in the area between Toluca, Mexico City and Veracruz. Voters signed a register that was passed to Maximilian in Trieste. Analysis by Jankoff suggested that in reality 18 of the 24 states had agreed to Maximilian becoming Emperor, in total around 7,303,000 voted for him and around 1,162,000 for Juárez

26.
House of Lorraine
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The House of Lorraine originated as a cadet branch of the House of Metz. It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death of duke Nicholas I without a male heir, Francis, his sons Joseph II and Leopold II, and grandson Francis II were the last four Holy Roman Emperors from 1745 to the dissolution of the empire in 1806. Habsburg-Lorraine inherited the Habsburg Empire, ruling the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary until the dissolution of the monarchy in 1918, the house claims descent from Gerard I of Paris whose immediate descendants are known as the Girardides. The Matfridings of the 10th century are thought to have been a branch of the family, at the turn of the 10th century they were Counts of Metz and ruled a set of lordships in Alsace and Lorraine. Mary of Guise, mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, louis XIVs imperialist ambitions forced the dukes into a permanent alliance with his archenemies, the Holy Roman Emperors from the House of Habsburg. Following the failure of both Emperor Joseph I and Emperor Charles VI to produce a son and heir, the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 left the throne to the yet unborn daughter. In 1736 Emperor Charles arranged her marriage to Francis of Lorraine who agreed to exchange his hereditary lands for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, at Charless death in 1740 the Habsburg lands passed to Maria Theresa and Francis, who was later elected Holy Roman Emperor as Francis I. The Habsburg-Lorraine nuptials and dynastic union precipitated, and survived, the War of the Austrian Succession, another member of the house, Archduke Maximilian of Austria, was Emperor of Mexico. In 1900, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria contracted a marriage with Countess Sophie Chotek. Their descendants, known as the House of Hohenberg, have been excluded from succession to the Austro-Hungarian crown, but not that of Lorraine, where morganatic marriage has never been outlawed. Nevertheless, Otto von Habsburg, the eldest grandson of Franz Ferdinands younger brother, was regarded as the head of the house until his death in 2011. It was at Nancy, the capital of the House of Vaudemont. House of Metz Adalbert, Duke of Upper Lorraine r, 1047/8 Gérard, Duke of Lorraine, r. 1390–1431 Charles II died without heir, the duchy passing to Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine. The duchy passed to their son John II, whose son Nicholas I died without male heir, the title now went to Nicholas aunt Yolande. René inherited the title of Duke of Lorraine upon his marriage in 1473, René II, Duke of Lorraine, r. 1608–1624 Nicole Claude Francis II, Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine r, 1624–1675 Nicholas Francis Charles V, r. 1690–1729 Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, r, 1745–1765 House of Habsburg-Lorraine Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, r

27.
Hacienda
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Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines or factories, many haciendas combined these productive activities. The term hacienda is imprecise, but usually refers to landed estates of significant size, smaller holdings were termed estancias or ranchos that were owned almost exclusively by Spaniards and criollos and in rare cases by mixed-race individuals. In Argentina, the estancia is used for large estates that in Mexico would be termed haciendas. In recent decades, the term has been used in the United States to refer to a style associated with the earlier estate manor houses. The hacienda system of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, New Granada, a similar system existed on a smaller scale in the Philippines and Puerto Rico. Haciendas were developed as profit-making, economic enterprises linked to regional or international markets, the owner of an hacienda was termed an hacendado. Even though the private landed estates that comprised most haciendas did not have a tie to the encomienda. Encomenderos were in a position to retain their prominence economically via the hacienda, since the encomienda was a grant from the crown, holders were dependent on the crown for its continuation. As the crown moved to eliminate the encomienda with its supply, Spaniards consolidated private landholdings. The long term trend then was the creation of the hacienda as secure private property, haciendas originated in Spanish land grants, made to many conquistadors and crown officials, but many ordinary Spaniards could also petition for land grants from the crown. The system is considered to have started in present-day Mexico, when the Spanish Crown granted to Hernán Cortés the title of Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca in 1529 and it gave him a tract of land that included all of the present state of Morelos. Cortés was also granted encomiendas, that gave him access to a vast pool of indigenous labor, in Spanish America, the owner of an hacienda was called the hacendado or patrón. Onsite management of the estates was by a paid administrator or manager. Administrators were often hired for a term of employment, receiving a salary. Some administrators also acquired landholdings themselves in the area of the estate they were managing, the work force on haciendas varied, depending on the type of hacienda and where it was located. In central Mexico near indigenous communities and growing crops to supply urban markets, there was often a small, labor could be recruited from nearby indigenous communities on an as-needed basis, such as planting and harvest time. The permanent and temporary employees worked land that belonged to the patrón

28.
Austrian Empire
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The Austrian Empire was an empire in Central Europe created out of the realms of the Habsburgs by proclamation in 1804. It was an empire and one of Europes great powers. Geographically it was the second largest country in Europe after the Russian Empire and it was also the third most populous after Russia and France, as well as the largest and strongest country in the German Confederation. Proclaimed in response to the First French Empire, it overlapped with the Holy Roman Empire until the dissolution in 1806. The Ausgleich of 1867 elevated Hungarys status and it became a separate entity from the Empire entirely, joining with it in the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. Changes shaping the nature of the Holy Roman Empire took place during conferences in Rastatt, on 24 March 1803, the Imperial Recess was declared, which reduced the number of ecclesiastical states from 81 to only 3 and the free imperial cities from 51 to 6. This measure was aimed at replacing the old constitution of the Holy Roman Empire, taking this significant change into consideration, the German Emperor Francis II created the title Emperor of Austria, for himself and his successors. In 1804 the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, who was ruler of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, founded the Empire of Austria. In doing so he created a formal overarching structure for the Habsburg Monarchy, to safeguard his dynastys imperial status he adopted the additional hereditary title of Emperor of Austria. Hungarys affairs remained administered by its own institutions as they had been beforehand, thus under the new arrangements no Imperial institutions were involved in its internal government. The fall and dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire was accelerated by French intervention in the Empire in September 1805, on 20 October 1805, an Austrian army led by general Karl Mack von Leiberich was defeated by French armies near the town of Ulm. The French victory resulted in the capture of 20,000 Austrian soldiers, Napoleons army won another victory at Austerlitz on 2 December 1805. Francis was forced into negotiations with the French from 4 to 6 December 1805, the French victories encouraged rulers of certain imperial territories to assert their formal independence from the Empire. On 10 December 1805, the prince-elector Duke of Bavaria proclaimed himself King, finally, on 12 December, the Margrave of Baden was given the title of Grand Duke. In addition, each of these new countries signed a treaty with France, the Treaty of Pressburg between France and Austria, signed in Pressburg on 26 December, enlarged the territory of Napoleons German allies at the expense of defeated Austria. Certain Austrian holdings in Germany were passed to French allies—the King of Bavaria, the King of Württemberg, Austrian claims on those German states were renounced without exception. On 12 July 1806, the Confederation of the Rhine was established, comprising 16 sovereigns and this confederation, under French influence, put an end to the Holy Roman Empire. On 6 August 1806, even Francis recognized the new state of things and proclaimed the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, as he did not want Napoleon to succeed him

29.
Monarchy of Belgium
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The monarchy of Belgium is a constitutional, popular and hereditary monarchy whose incumbent is titled the King or Queen of the Belgians and serves as the countrys head of state. There have been seven Belgian monarchs since independence in 1830, the incumbent, Philippe, ascended the throne on 21 July 2013, following the abdication of his father. When Belgium became independent in 1830 the National Congress chose a constitutional monarchy as the form of government, the Congress voted on the question on 22 November 1830, supporting monarchy by 174 votes to 13. Following this refusal, the National Congress appointed Erasme-Louis, Baron Surlet de Chokier to be the Regent of Belgium on 25 February 1831 and this day has since become a national holiday for Belgium and its citizens. As a hereditary constitutional monarchy system, the role and operation of Belgiums monarchy is governed by the Constitution, the royal office of King is designated solely for a descendant of the first King of the Belgians, Leopold I. Since he is bound by the Constitution the King is intended to act as an arbiter and guardian of Belgian national unity, Belgiums monarchs are inaugurated in a purely civil swearing-in ceremony. The Kingdom of Belgium was never an absolute monarchy, nevertheless, in 1961, the historian Ramon Arango, wrote that the Belgian monarchy is not truly constitutional. King Leopold I was head of Foreign Affairs as an ancien régime monarch, millions of Congolese were killed as a result of Leopolds policies in the Congo. On several occasions Leopold II publicly expressed disagreement with ruling government and was accused by Yvon Gouet of noncompliance with the parliamentary system. In a similar manner, Albert I of Belgium would later state that he was in command of the Belgian army contrary to his Prime Minister Charles de Broqueville, Louis Wodon, thought the Kings oath to the Constitution implied a royal position over and above the Constitution. The family is, of course, an institution as is the state. But what would a family be where everything was limited among those who compose it to simply legal relationships. For Raymond Fusilier, the Belgian monarchy had to be placed - at least in the beginning - between the regimes where the rules and those in which the king does not rule. The Belgian monarchy is closer to the principle the King does not rule But the Belgian kings were not only at the head of the part of the Constitution. For Francis Delpérée, to reign does not only mean to preside over ceremonies, the Belgian historian Jean Stengers wrote that some foreigners believe the monarchy is indispensable to national unity. He is only a piece on the chessboard, but a piece which matters, to date all have belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. This is a tree of the Kings of the Belgians, hereditary. Dutch monarchs family tree The proper title of the Belgian monarch is King of the Belgians rather than King of Belgium, the title indicates a popular monarchy linked to the people of Belgium, whereas King of Belgium would indicate standard constitutional or absolute monarchy linked to territory or state

30.
New Spain
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New Spain was a colonial territory of the Spanish Empire, in the New World north of the Isthmus of Panama. It was established following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521, after 1535 the colony was governed by the Viceroy of New Spain, an appointed minister of the King of Spain, who ruled as monarch over the colony. The capital of New Spain was Mexico City and it developed highly regional divisions, which reflect the impact of climate, topography, the presence or absence of dense indigenous populations, and the presence or absence of mineral resources. The areas of central and southern Mexico had dense indigenous populations with complex social, political, silver mining not only became the engine of the economy of New Spain, but vastly enriched Spain, and transformed the global economy. New Spain was the New World terminus of the Philippine trade, although New Spain was a dependency of Spain, it was a kingdom not a colony, subject to the presiding monarch on the Iberian Peninsula. Every privilege and position, economic political, or religious came from him and it was on this basis that the conquest, occupation, and government of the New World was achieved. The Viceroyalty of New Spain was established in 1535 in the Kingdom of New Spain and it was the first New World viceroyalty and one of only two in the Spanish empire until the 18th century Bourbon Reforms. The Spanish Empire comprised the territories in the north overseas Septentrion, from North America, to the west of the continent, New Spain also included the Spanish East Indies. To the east of the continent, it included the Spanish West Indies and this was not occupied by many Spanish settlers and were considered more marginal to Spanish interests than the most densely populated and lucrative areas of central Mexico. To shore up its claims in North America starting in the late 18th century, Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest explored and claimed the coast of what is now British Columbia and Alaska. The indigenous societies of Mesoamerica brought under Spanish control were of unprecedented complexity, the societies could provide the conquistadors, especially Hernán Cortés, a base from which the conquerors could become autonomous, or even independent, of the Crown. As a result, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, since the time of the Catholic Monarchs, central Iberia was governed through councils appointed by the monarch with particular jurisdictions. Thus, the creation of the Council of the Indies became another, the crown had set up the Casa de Contratación in 1503 to regulate contacts between Spain and its overseas possessions. A key function was to gather information about navigation to make trips less risky and they were accompanied by maps of the area discussed, many of which were drawn by indigenous artists. The Francisco Hernández Expedition, the first scientific expedition to the New World, was sent to gather information medicinal plants, an earlier Audiencia had been established in Santo Domingo in 1526 to deal with the Caribbean settlements. That Audiencia, housed in the Casa Reales in Santo Domingo, was charged with encouraging further exploration, management by the Audiencia, which was expected to make executive decisions as a body, proved unwieldy. Therefore, in 1535, King Charles V named Don Antonio de Mendoza as the first Viceroy of New Spain. After the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in 1532 opened up the vast territories of South America to further conquests, the Crown established an independent Viceroyalty of Peru there in 1540

31.
Mexican nobility
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While some titles were granted in Mexico itself, other families brought with them their old titles from Europe. The Political Constitution of Mexico has prohibited the state from granting any titles of nobility since 1917, the United Mexican States do not issue or recognize titles of nobility or hereditary prerogatives and honors. The Aztecs and other Indigenous peoples in Mexico had a system of aristocracy in place when the Spanish arrived in Mexico. The Spaniards respected this system and added to it, resulting in many unions between Aztec and Spanish nobility, the holders of the title, who still reside in Spain, became part of the Spanish nobility in 1766 when they received a grandeza. Some families of pure Amerindian ancestry, such as the Mixtec Villagómez family, were among the richest landowners in New Spain after the conquest of the Aztec empire. Despite being part of the colonial elite after the conquest, the Villagómez retained their Mixtec identity, speaking the Mixtec language, numerous other Indigenous elites collaborated with the conquest, earning noble titles and privileges. Most notably, all the Tlaxcallans, who resettled into northern Mexico, families who received a título de Castilla during the colonial period were the first to be granted European noble titles in New Spain. One of the first was the Spanish noble Conquistador Hernán Cortés, cortéss first wife was Doña Catalina Marcaida Jaurez, and the marriage was an important political alliance while he was in Cuba. His second marriage was to a noblewoman, approximately 130 titles were held by Spaniards born or resident in New Spain. Main centers of population included Mexico City, Puebla, Querétaro, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Guadalajara, the largest number of noble titles were created in the eighteenth century under the Spanish Bourbon monarchs and the influx of foreign nobles to Mexico. Knighthoods were also created, most notably, of Guadalupe, many of these families were part of the hidalgo class. Some families received titles of nobility from the Congress of the First Empire, after the fall of the First Empire, the imperial family resided in Italy, and later, in the United States. Afterwards, during the Second Mexican Empire, under Maximilian I of Mexico of the House of Habsburg, while knightly orders were re-established, no new titles of nobility were granted. E. E. Don Agustín died in exile in the United States, where he was a Spanish professor at Georgetown University, many journeyed and lived abroad, often doing so in Paris, London, and Madrid. Most men studied at the Jesuit-run British public school, Stonyhurst College, by marriage into such French families as the Polignacs and de Villeneuves, a number of persons of Mexican descent were noble. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Mexican nobility — both titled and untitled — consisted of approximately 1. 5% of Mexicos population, or approximately 200,000 individuals. Around 1902, Don Ricardo Ortega y Pérez Gallardo, Mexicos unofficial King of Arms, after the revolution, the nobility migrated to Mexico City in large numbers, many entered the professional and educated classes. The Mexican Academy of Genealogy and Heraldry has operated since 1921, creating a journal, a number found employment in the diplomatic service, arts and letters, public relations, and transnational corporations

32.
Carlota of Mexico
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Carlota of Mexico was a Belgian princess who became Empress of Mexico as the wife of Maximilian I of Mexico. The only daughter of Leopold I, King of the Belgians by his wife, Louise, Princess of Orléans, Charlotte was born at the Royal Palace of Laeken in Laeken, Brussels. Charlotte had three brothers, Louis-Philippe, who died in infancy, Leopold, who on the death of their father became Leopold II of Belgium and Philippe, Count of Flanders. She was also a first cousin to both Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, as well as Ferdinand II of Portugal and she belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her favorite grandparent Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies, Queen of France, was the consort of Louis-Philippe of France, Maria Amalia was Charlottes close confidante, and on her wedding day in 1857, she wore a bracelet with a miniature portrait of her. They regularly corresponded, especially later while Charlotte was in Mexico, when Charlotte was ten years old, her mother, Louise-Marie, died of tuberculosis and Charlotte was entrusted to the Countess of Hulste, a close family friend. Although young, the princess had her own household, but for a few out of the year, Charlotte stayed in Claremont with Maria Amalia. On 27 July 1857 in Brussels, Charlotte married her second cousin Archduke Maximilian of Austria, Napoleon III gave Charlotte and her husband Maximillian a beautiful bisque bust of Charlotte as a wedding gift. This bust is in the Popes Tavern, Florence, Alabama, in the Court of Vienna she was much prized by her mother-in-law, Princess Sophie, who saw in her the perfect example of a wife to an Austrian Archduke. Charlotte disliked Empress Elisabeth, Franz Josephs wife, Charlotte spent several relatively happy years in Italy as Maximilians wife while the archduke served as the governor of the Austrian provinces of Lombardy and Venetia. The position was purely nominal, as power rested in the hand of the Emperor, in the early 1860s, the ambitious Napoleon III initiated the French intervention in Mexico. France, eager to turn Mexico into a state, searched for a suitable figurehead to serve as the nominal emperor of Mexico. His choice was Maximilian, who held no power in Italy and was eager for a more challenging role. Against his brothers advice, Maximilian accepted the Mexican crown and the couple sailed for the New World, the imperial couple were crowned at the Catedral Metropolitana in 1864 and chose as their seat Mexico City, making their home in the Neoclassical Chapultepec Castle. As Empress, she took the name of Carlota, Carlota tried to take her imperial duties seriously, and even undertook a tour of the remote Yucatán frontier, visiting the ruins of Uxmal. Only months after the coronation, however, Napoleon III began signaling his abandonment of Maximilian, and this strategic pullback was a potentially fatal blow to the infant Mexican monarchy. The situation was exacerbated by a United States blockade that prevented French reinforcements from landing, in a desperate attempt to save her husbands throne, Carlota returned to Europe, seeking assistance for her husband in Paris, Vienna, and finally in Rome from Pope Pius IX. Her efforts failed, she manifested symptoms of paranoia, suffered a profound cognitive and emotional collapse, Maximilian explained himself that it was all a charade to get his brother Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria to give him one of his sons as heir

33.
Leopold I of Belgium
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Leopold I was a German prince who became the first King of the Belgians following Belgian independence in 1830. He reigned between July 1831 and December 1865, Charlotte died in 1817, but Leopold continued to enjoy considerable status in Britain. After the Greek War of Independence, LeopoId was offered the position of King of Greece but turned it down, instead, Leopold accepted the kingship of the newly established Kingdom of Belgium in 1831. The Belgian government offered the position to Leopold because of his connections with royal houses across Europe. Leopold took his oath as King of the Belgians on 21 July 1831 and his reign was marked by attempts by the Dutch to recapture Belgium and, later, by internal political division between liberals and Catholics. As a result of the ambiguities in the Belgian Constitution, Leopold was able to expand the monarchs powers during his reign. He also played an important role in stopping the spread of the Revolutions of 1848 into Belgium and he died in 1865 and was succeeded by his son, Leopold II. Leopold was born in Coburg in the tiny German duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in modern-day Bavaria on 16 December 1790 and he was the youngest son of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Countess Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf. In 1826, Saxe-Coburg acquired the city of Gotha from the neighboring Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and gave up Saalfeld to Saxe-Meiningen, becoming Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Ln 1795, at just five years old, Leopold was given a commission of the rank of colonel in the Izmaylovsky Regiment, part of the Imperial Guard. Seven years later, he received a promotion to the rank of Major General, when French troops occupied the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars, Leopold went to Paris where he became part of the Imperial Court of Napoleon. Napoleon offered him the position of adjutant, but Leopold refused, instead, he went to Russia to take up a military career in the Imperial Russian cavalry, which was at war with France at the time. He campaigned against Napoleon and distinguished himself at the Battle of Kulm at the head of his cuirassier division, in 1815, by the time of the final defeat of Napoleon and, aged 25, reached the rank of lieutenant general. Leopold received British citizenship in 1815, on 2 May 1816, Leopold married Princess Charlotte of Wales at Carlton House in London. Charlotte was the legitimate child of the Prince Regent George. The same year he received a commission to the rank of Field Marshal. On 5 November 1817, Princess Charlotte gave birth to a stillborn son and she herself died the next day following complications. Despite Charlottes death, the Prince Regent granted Prince Leopold the British style of Royal Highness by Order in Council on 6 April 1818, from 1828 to 1829, Leopold had several-months long affair with the actress Caroline Bauer, who bore a striking resemblance to Charlotte

34.
Mexico City
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Mexico City, or City of Mexico, is the capital and most populous city of Mexico. As an alpha global city, Mexico City is one of the most important financial centers in the Americas and it is located in the Valley of Mexico, a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 metres. The city consists of sixteen municipalities, the 2009 estimated population for the city proper was approximately 8.84 million people, with a land area of 1,485 square kilometres. The Greater Mexico City has a domestic product of US$411 billion in 2011. The city was responsible for generating 15. 8% of Mexicos Gross Domestic Product, as a stand-alone country, in 2013, Mexico City would be the fifth-largest economy in Latin America—five times as large as Costa Ricas and about the same size as Perus. Mexico’s capital is both the oldest capital city in the Americas and one of two founded by Amerindians, the other being Quito. In 1524, the municipality of Mexico City was established, known as México Tenochtitlán, Mexico City served as the political, administrative and financial center of a major part of the Spanish colonial empire. After independence from Spain was achieved, the district was created in 1824. Ever since, the left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution has controlled both of them, in recent years, the local government has passed a wave of liberal policies, such as abortion on request, a limited form of euthanasia, no-fault divorce, and same-sex marriage. On January 29,2016, it ceased to be called the Federal District and is now in transition to become the countrys 32nd federal entity, giving it a level of autonomy comparable to that of a state. Because of a clause in the Mexican Constitution, however, as the seat of the powers of the federation, it can never become a state, the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan was founded by the Mexica people in 1325. According to legend, the Mexicas principal god, Huitzilopochtli indicated the site where they were to build their home by presenting an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak. Between 1325 and 1521, Tenochtitlan grew in size and strength, eventually dominating the other city-states around Lake Texcoco, when the Spaniards arrived, the Aztec Empire had reached much of Mesoamerica, touching both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. After landing in Veracruz, Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés advanced upon Tenochtitlan with the aid of many of the native peoples. Cortés put Moctezuma under house arrest, hoping to rule through him, the Aztecs thought the Spaniards were permanently gone, and they elected a new king, Cuitláhuac, but he soon died, the next king was Cuauhtémoc. Cortés began a siege of Tenochtitlan in May 1521, for three months, the city suffered from the lack of food and water as well as the spread of smallpox brought by the Europeans. Cortés and his allies landed their forces in the south of the island, the Spaniards practically razed Tenochtitlan during the final siege of the conquest. Cortés first settled in Coyoacán, but decided to rebuild the Aztec site to erase all traces of the old order and he did not establish a territory under his own personal rule, but remained loyal to the Spanish crown

35.
Veracruz
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It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is Xalapa-Enríquez. This state is located in Eastern Mexico and it is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north, San Luis Potosí and Hidalgo to the west, Puebla to the southwest, Oaxaca and Chiapas to the south, and Tabasco to the southeast. On its east, Veracruz has a significant share of the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico, the state is noted for its mixed ethnic and indigenous populations. Its cuisine reflects the cultural influences that have come through the state because of the importance of the port of Veracruz. In addition to the city, the states largest cities include Veracruz, Coatzacoalcos, Córdoba, Minatitlán, Poza Rica, Boca Del Río. The full name of the state is Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Veracruz was named after the city of Veracruz, which was originally called the Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz. The suffix is in honor of Ignacio de la Llave y Segura Zevallos, the state’s seal was authorized by the state legislature in 1954, adapting the one used for the port of Veracruz and created by the Spanish in the early 16th century. The state is a strip of land wedged between the Sierra Madre Oriental to the west and the Gulf of Mexico to the east. Its total area is 78,815 km2, accounting for about 3. 7% of Mexico’s total territory and it stretches about 650 km north to south, but its width varies from between 212 km to 36 km, with an average of about 100 km in width. Veracruz shares common borders with the states of Tamaulipas, Oaxaca and Chiapas, Tabasco, and Puebla, Hidalgo, Veracruz has 690 km of coastline with the Gulf of Mexico. The topography changes drastically, rising from the coastal plains to the highlands of the eastern Sierra Madre. Elevation varies from sea level to the Pico de Orizaba, Mexico’s highest peak at 5,636 m above sea level, the coast consists of low sandy strips interspersed with tidewater streams and lagoons. Most of the coastline is narrow and sandy with unstable dunes, small shifting lagoons. The mountains are of the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, major peaks include Pico de Orizaba, Cofre de Perote, Cerro de Tecomates, Cerro del Vigía Alta and Cerro de 3 Tortas. The Pico de Orizaba is covered in snow year round, the Cofre de Perote is covered in winter, major valleys include the Acultzingo, Córdoba, Maltrata, Orizaba and San Andrés. All of the rivers and streams cross the state begin in the Sierra Madre Oriental or in the Central Mesa. The largest in terms of discharge are the Pánuco, Tuxpan, Papaloapan, Coazocoalcos. The Panuco, Tuxpan, Papaloapan and Coatzacoalcos are navigable, two of Mexicos most polluted rivers, the Coatzacoalcos and the Río Blanco are located in the state

36.
Isabella II of Spain
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Isabella II was Queen of Spain from 1833 until 1868. She came to the throne as an infant, but her succession was disputed by the Carlists, after a troubled reign, she was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1868, and formally abdicated in 1870. Her son Alfonso XII became king in 1874, Isabella was born in Madrid in 1830, the eldest daughter of King Ferdinand VII of Spain, and of his fourth wife and niece, Maria Christina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Queen Maria Christina became regent on 29 September 1833, when her three-year-old daughter Isabella was proclaimed sovereign on the death of the king, the first pretender, Ferdinands brother Carlos, fought seven years during the minority of Isabella to dispute her title. Carlos and his descendants supporters were known as Carlists, and the fight over the succession was the subject of a number of Carlist Wars in the 19th century, Isabellas reign was maintained only through the support of the army. After the Carlist war, the regent, Maria Christina, resigned to make way for Baldomero Espartero, Prince of Vergara, Espartero, a Progressive, remained regent for only two years. Baldomero Espartero was turned out in 1843 by a military and political pronunciamiento led by Generals Leopoldo ODonnell and they formed a cabinet, presided over by Joaquín María López y López. This government induced the Cortes to declare Isabella of age at 13, the marriages suited France and Louis Philippe, King of the French, who as a result nearly quarrelled with Britain. However, the marriages were not happy, persistent rumour had it that few if any of Isabellas children were fathered by her king-consort, rumoured to be a homosexual. The Carlist party asserted that the heir-apparent to the throne, who later became Alfonso XII, had fathered by a captain of the guard. Isabella had nine children, but only five reached adulthood, Ferdinand Maria Isabel, Princess of Asturias, Maria Cristina Alfonso XII Maria de la Concepcion Maria del Pilar María de la Paz, who married her cousin Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Bavaria. Francisco de Asis Eulalia de Asis de la Piedad, who married her cousin Infante Antonio, the couple was rather caustically described by an English contemporary thus, … The Queen is large in stature, but rather what might be called bulky than stately. There is no dignity either in her face or figure, the countenance is cold and expressionless, with traces of an unchastened, unrefined, and impulsive character, and the indifference it betrays is not redeemed by any regularity or beauty of feature. Moderados and Unión Liberals quickly succeeded each other and kept out the Progressives, Queen Isabella II often interfered in politics. She showed favour to her reactionary generals and statesmen and to the Church, by virtue of a royal decree, she opened Iloilo to world trade on September 29,1855 exporting mainly sugar and also other products to America, Australia and Europe. At the end of September 1868, Isabella went into exile, after her Moderado generals had made a show of resistance that was crushed at the Battle of Alcolea by Generals Serrano. This revolt, which deposed Isabella, is known as the Glorious Revolution, the new government replaced Isabella with Amadeo I, second son of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, after much deliberation. The First Spanish Republic collapsed in December 1874, Isabella had been induced to abdicate in Paris on 25 June 1870, in favour of her son, Alfonso XII, furthering the cause of the Restoration

37.
Abraham Lincoln
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Abraham Lincoln was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through its Civil War—its bloodiest war and perhaps its greatest moral, constitutional, in doing so, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy. Born in Hodgenville, Kentucky, Lincoln grew up on the frontier in Kentucky. Largely self-educated, he became a lawyer in Illinois, a Whig Party leader, elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1846, Lincoln promoted rapid modernization of the economy through banks, tariffs, and railroads. Reentering politics in 1854, he became a leader in building the new Republican Party, in 1860, Lincoln secured the Republican Party presidential nomination as a moderate from a swing state. Though he gained little support in the slaveholding states of the South. Subsequently, on April 12,1861, a Confederate attack on Fort Sumter inspired the North to enthusiastically rally behind the Union. Politically, Lincoln fought back by pitting his opponents against each other, by carefully planned political patronage and his Gettysburg Address became an iconic endorsement of the principles of nationalism, republicanism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy. Lincoln initially concentrated on the military and political dimensions of the war and his primary goal was to reunite the nation. He suspended habeas corpus, leading to the ex parte Merryman decision. Lincoln closely supervised the war effort, especially the selection of top generals, including his most successful general, Lincoln tried repeatedly to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, each time a general failed, Lincoln substituted another, until finally Grant succeeded. As the war progressed, his moves toward ending slavery included the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. On April 14,1865, five days after the surrender of Confederate commanding general Robert E. Lee, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton launched a manhunt for Booth, and 12 days later on April 26, Lincoln has been consistently ranked both by scholars and the public as among the greatest U. S. presidents. Abraham Lincoln was born February 12,1809, the child of Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, in a one-room log cabin on the Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville. He was a descendant of Samuel Lincoln, an Englishman who migrated from Hingham, Norfolk to its namesake of Hingham, samuels grandson and great-grandson began the familys western migration, which passed through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Lincolns paternal grandfather and namesake, Captain Abraham Lincoln, moved the family from Virginia to Jefferson County, Captain Lincoln was killed in an Indian raid in 1786. His children, including eight-year-old Thomas, the presidents father

38.
Andrew Johnson
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Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. Johnson became president as he was president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. A Democrat who ran with Lincoln on the National Union ticket, the new president favored quick restoration of the seceded states to the Union. His plans did not give protection to the slaves, and he came into conflict with the Republican-dominated Congress. The first American president to be impeached, he was acquitted in the Senate by one vote, Johnson was born in poverty in Raleigh, North Carolina. Apprenticed as a tailor, he worked in several towns before settling in Greeneville. He served as alderman and mayor there before being elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1835, after brief service in the Tennessee Senate, Johnson was elected to the federal House of Representatives in 1843, where he served five two-year terms. He became Governor of Tennessee for four years, and was elected by the legislature to the Senate in 1857, in his congressional service, he sought passage of the Homestead Bill, which was enacted soon after he left his Senate seat in 1862. As Southern slave states, including Tennessee, seceded to form the Confederate States of America and he was the only sitting senator from a Confederate state who did not resign his seat upon learning of his states secession. In 1862, Lincoln appointed him as governor of Tennessee after most of it had been retaken. When Johnson was sworn in as president in March 1865, he gave a rambling speech. Six weeks later, the assassination of Lincoln made him president, Johnson implemented his own form of Presidential Reconstruction – a series of proclamations directing the seceded states to hold conventions and elections to re-form their civil governments. Johnson vetoed their bills, and Congressional Republicans overrode him, setting a pattern for the remainder of his presidency, Johnson opposed the Fourteenth Amendment, which gave citizenship to former slaves. In 1866, Johnson went on a national tour promoting his executive policies. As the conflict between the branches of government grew, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act, restricting Johnsons ability to fire Cabinet officials. When he persisted in trying to dismiss Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, he was impeached by the House of Representatives, and narrowly avoided conviction in the Senate and removal from office. Returning to Tennessee after his presidency, Johnson sought political vindication, Johnson is regarded by many historians as one of the worst presidents in American history. While some admire his strict constitutionalism, his opposition to federally guaranteed rights for African Americans is widely criticized

39.
American Civil War
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The American Civil War was an internal conflict fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. The Union faced secessionists in eleven Southern states grouped together as the Confederate States of America, the Union won the war, which remains the bloodiest in U. S. history. Among the 34 U. S. states in February 1861, War broke out in April 1861 when Confederates attacked the U. S. fortress of Fort Sumter. The Confederacy grew to eleven states, it claimed two more states, the Indian Territory, and the southern portions of the western territories of Arizona. The Confederacy was never recognized by the United States government nor by any foreign country. The states that remained loyal, including border states where slavery was legal, were known as the Union or the North, the war ended with the surrender of all the Confederate armies and the dissolution of the Confederate government in the spring of 1865. The war had its origin in the issue of slavery. The Confederacy collapsed and 4 million slaves were freed, but before his inauguration, seven slave states with cotton-based economies formed the Confederacy. The first six to declare secession had the highest proportions of slaves in their populations, the first seven with state legislatures to resolve for secession included split majorities for unionists Douglas and Bell in Georgia with 51% and Louisiana with 55%. Alabama had voted 46% for those unionists, Mississippi with 40%, Florida with 38%, Texas with 25%, of these, only Texas held a referendum on secession. Eight remaining slave states continued to reject calls for secession, outgoing Democratic President James Buchanan and the incoming Republicans rejected secession as illegal. Lincolns March 4,1861 inaugural address declared that his administration would not initiate a civil war, speaking directly to the Southern States, he reaffirmed, I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists. I believe I have no right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. After Confederate forces seized numerous federal forts within territory claimed by the Confederacy, efforts at compromise failed, the Confederates assumed that European countries were so dependent on King Cotton that they would intervene, but none did, and none recognized the new Confederate States of America. Hostilities began on April 12,1861, when Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter, while in the Western Theater the Union made significant permanent gains, in the Eastern Theater, the battle was inconclusive in 1861–62. The autumn 1862 Confederate campaigns into Maryland and Kentucky failed, dissuading British intervention, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which made ending slavery a war goal. To the west, by summer 1862 the Union destroyed the Confederate river navy, then much of their western armies, the 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River. In 1863, Robert E. Lees Confederate incursion north ended at the Battle of Gettysburg, Western successes led to Ulysses S. Grants command of all Union armies in 1864

40.
South American
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South America is a continent located in the western hemisphere, mostly in the southern hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the northern hemisphere. It may also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas, which is the used in nations that speak Romance languages. The reference to South America instead of other regions has increased in the last decades due to changing geopolitical dynamics. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean, North America and it includes twelve sovereign states, a part of France, and a non-sovereign area. In addition to this, the ABC islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago, South America has an area of 17,840,000 square kilometers. Its population as of 2005 has been estimated at more than 371,090,000, South America ranks fourth in area and fifth in population. Brazil is by far the most populous South American country, with more than half of the population, followed by Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela. In recent decades Brazil has also concentrated half of the regions GDP and has become a first regional power, most of the population lives near the continents western or eastern coasts while the interior and the far south are sparsely populated. Most of the continent lies in the tropics, the continents cultural and ethnic outlook has its origin with the interaction of indigenous peoples with European conquerors and immigrants and, more locally, with African slaves. Given a long history of colonialism, the majority of South Americans speak Portuguese or Spanish. South America occupies the portion of the Americas. The continent is delimited on the northwest by the Darién watershed along the Colombia–Panama border. Almost all of mainland South America sits on the South American Plate, South Americas major mineral resources are gold, silver, copper, iron ore, tin, and petroleum. These resources found in South America have brought high income to its countries especially in times of war or of rapid growth by industrialized countries elsewhere. However, the concentration in producing one major export commodity often has hindered the development of diversified economies and this is leading to efforts to diversify production to drive away from staying as economies dedicated to one major export. South America is one of the most biodiverse continents on earth, South America is home to many interesting and unique species of animals including the llama, anaconda, piranha, jaguar, vicuña, and tapir. The Amazon rainforests possess high biodiversity, containing a proportion of the Earths species. Brazil is the largest country in South America, encompassing around half of the land area

41.
Charles de Morny, Duke of Morny
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Charles Auguste Louis Joseph Demorny/de Morny, 1er Duc de Morny was a French statesman. He was the son of Hortense de Beauharnais and Charles Joseph, Comte de Flahaut, making him half-brother of Emperor Napoleon III. M. Demorny was in fact an officer in the Prussian army and his father was in fact Charles de Flahaut. His mother, Hortense de Beauharnais was the stepdaughter of Napoléon Bonaparte and he was educated by his grandmother, Adelaïde Filleul. After a brilliant school and college career the future duc de Morny received a commission in the army, and the next year he entered the staff college. The comte de Morny, as he was called by a fiction, served in Algeria in 1834–1835 as aide-de-camp to General Camille Alphonse Trezel. In these and other lucrative speculations he was helped by his mistress Françoise Mosselman, eventually there were few great commercial enterprises in Paris in which he did not have an interest. Although he sat as deputy for Clermont-Ferrand from 1842 onwards, he took at first no important part in party politics, but he was heard with respect on industrial and financial questions. His attitude was expressed by the witticism with which he is said to have replied to a lady who asked what he would do if the Chamber were swept out, range myself on the side of the broom handle, was his answer. He then resumed his financial speculations, when in 1854 the Emperor appointed him president of the Corps Législatif, a position which he filled for the rest of his life, he used his official rank to assist his schemes. His wifes connections greatly strengthened his social position, sophie was legally daughter of Prince Sergey Vasilyevich Trubetskoy, but may have been the illegitimate daughter of Nicholas I of Russia. In 1862, Morny was created a Duke and it is said that he aspired to the throne of Mexico, and that the French expedition sent to place Archduke Maximilian on the throne was prompted by Napoleon IIIs desire to thwart this ambition. But while he was laying the foundations of the Liberal Empire his health deteriorated and was injured by quack medicines. The emperor and the empress visited him just before his death in Paris on 10 March 1865, mornys valuable collection of pictures, including Jean-Honoré Fragonards The Swing, was sold after his death. Morny played an important role in the development of the horse racing and breeding industry in France. In 1860, he purchased the English Triple Crown champion West Australian, in 1862 Morny built the Deauville-La Touques Race Course near Deauville. The Prix Morny is named in his honor, in 1832, the Count took the French Romantic painter Eugène Delacroix with him on a diplomatic mission to Tangier, exposing the artist to life outside of cloudy, overcast Paris. He married María de la Purificación Dorticos-Marín y León, Marquesa de Marín, Auguste Charles Louis Valentin de Morny, who succeeded his father as the 2nd Duc de Morny

42.
Second Italian War of Independence
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The Piedmontese, following their defeat by Austria in the First Italian War of Independence, recognised their need for allies. In the peace conference at Paris following the Crimean War, Cavour attempted to bring attention to efforts for Italian unification, private talks between Napoleon III and Cavour after the conference identified Napoleon as the most likely, albeit still uncommitted, candidate for aiding Italy. On 14 January 1858, Felice Orsini, an Italian, led an attempt on Napoleon IIIs life, Cavour, being unable to get the French help unless the Austrians attacked first, provoked Vienna with a series of military manoeuvers close to the border. The French army for the Italian campaign had 170,000 soldiers,2,000 horsemen and 312 guns, the Imperial Guard was commanded by Auguste Regnaud de Saint-Jean dAngély. The Sardinian army had about 70,000 soldiers,4,000 horsemen and 90 guns and it was divided into five divisions, led by Castelbrugo, Manfredo Fanti, Giovanni Durando, Enrico Cialdini, and Domenico Cucchiari. Two volunteer formations, the Cacciatori delle Alpi and the Cacciatori degli Appennini, were also present, the commander in chief was Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, supported by Alfonso Ferrero la Marmora. The Austrian army fielded more men, it was composed of 220,000 soldiers,824 guns and 22,000 horsemen and was led by Field Marshal Ferenc Graf Gyulay. At the declaration of war, there were no French troops in Italy, the Austrian forces counted on a swift victory over the weaker Sardinian army before French forces could arrive in Piedmont. Unfortunately for him, very heavy rains began to fall as soon as he did this, allowing the Piedmontese to flood the fields in front of his advance. On 14 May Napoleon III arrived in Alessandria, taking the command of the operations, the initial clash of the war was at Montebello on 20 May, a battle between an Austrian Corps under Stadion and a single division of the French I Corps under Forey. The Austrian contingent was three times as large, but the French were victorious, making Gyulai still more cautious, in early June, Gyulai had advanced to the rail center of Magenta, leaving his army spread out. Napoleon III attacked the Ticino head on with part of his force while sending another large group of troops to the north to flank the Austrians. The plan worked, causing Gyulai to retreat east to the fortresses in Lombardy. Replacing Gyulai was Emperor Franz Josef I himself and he planned to defend the well-fortified Austrian territory behind the Mincio River. The Piedmontese-French army had taken Milan and slowly marched further east to finish off Austria in this war before Prussia could get involved, the Austrians found out that the French had halted at Brescia, and decided that they should counterattack along the river Chiese. The two armies met accidentally around Solferino, precipitating a series of battles. A French corps held off three Austrian corps all day at Medole, keeping them from joining the battle around Solferino, where, after a day-long battle. Ludwig von Benedek with the Austrian VIII Corps was separated from the main force and this they did successfully, but the entire Austrian army retreated after the breakthrough at Solferino, withdrawing back into the Quadrilateral

43.
Kingdom of Sardinia
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The Kingdom of Sardinia was a state in Southern Europe which existed from the early 14th until the mid-19th century. It was the state of todays Italy. When it was acquired by the Duke of Savoy in 1720, however, the Savoyards united it with their possessions on the Italian mainland and, by the time of the Crimean War in 1853, had built the resulting kingdom into a strong power. The formal name of the entire Savoyard state was the States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia and its final capital was Turin, the capital of Savoy since the Middle Ages. Beginning in 1324, James and his successors conquered the island of Sardinia, in 1420 the last competing claim to the island was bought out. After the union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile, Sardinia became a part of the burgeoning Spanish Empire, in 1720 it was ceded by the Habsburg and Bourbon claimants to the Spanish throne to Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy. While in theory the traditional capital of the island of Sardinia and seat of its viceroys was Cagliari, the Congress of Vienna, which restructured Europe after Napoleons defeat, returned to Savoy its mainland possessions and augmented them with Liguria, taken from the Republic of Genoa. In 1847–48, in a fusion, the various Savoyard states were unified under one legal system, with the capital in Turin, and granted a constitution. There followed the annexation of Lombardy, the central Italian states and the Two Sicilies, Venetia, in 238 BC Sardinia became, along with Corsica, a province of the Roman Empire. The Romans ruled the island until the middle of the 5th century, when it was occupied by the Vandals, in 534 AD it was reconquered by the Romans, but now from the Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantium. It remained a Byzantine province until the Arab conquest of Sicily in the 9th century, after that, communications with Constantinople became very difficult, and powerful families of the island assumed control of the land. Starting from 705–706, Saracens from north Africa harassed the population of the coastal cities, information about the Sardinian political situation in the following centuries is scarce. There is a record of another massive Saracen sea attack in 1015–16 from the Balearics, the Saracen attempt to invade the island was stopped by the Judicatus with the support of the fleets of the maritime republics of Pisa and Genoa, free cities of the Holy Roman Empire. Pope Benedict VIII also requested aid from the republics of Pisa. Even the title of Judices was a Byzantine reminder of the Greek church and state, of these sovereigns only two names are known, Turcoturiu and Salusiu, who probably ruled in the 10th century. The Archons still wrote in Greek or Latin, but one of the first documents of the Judex of Cagliari, their successor, was written in romance Sardinian language. The realm was divided into four kingdoms, the Judicati, perfectly organized as was the previous realm, but was now under the influence of the Pope. That was the cause of leading to a long war between the Judices, who regarded themselves as kings fighting against rebellious nobles

The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the …

Universalis Cosmographia, the Waldseemüller map dated 1507, from a time when the nature of the Americas was ambiguous, particularly North America, as a possible part of Asia, was the first map to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans. South America was generally considered a "new world" and shows the name "America" for the first time, after Amerigo Vespucci

Made in 1529, the Diogo Ribeiro map was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper size